Saido Berahino says he feels sharper, hungrier and happier after scoring his long-awaited first goal in Stoke colours.

The £12m forward got off the mark in Stoke's glamour friendly against French champions Monaco in the Swiss Alps on Saturday, with the Potters going on to lose 4-2.

It was a tap in but, six months into his career at the club, he is determined to make sure it is the first of many.

"I'm hungrier than ever really," he said. "I've missed this so much and now I'm up and running, I'm sharper and I'm feeling happy."

"I have always tried to keep doing what I do, trying to right arrears and finally my luck was there for me and I managed to get the first goal. I'm happy, right now it's about getting the rhythm back and I've come back in good shape and I think I'm getting in good areas. Hopefully more will now follow.

"Of course it weighs on your mind. As a striker you want to score every game – but the good thing is the lads have been brilliant with me, always encouraged me to keep going and get in the box and get into good areas. It was just a matter of time really and against Monaco the ball fell at my feet.

"It was about being patient and now the curse has been broken I can look forward to many more goals."

Berahino, still only 23, is hoping to recapture the form which had him on the fringes of the England set-up two-and-a-half years ago. But he insists he is not the only one in the Stoke camp with a bit between his teeth.

He said: "I've definitely got a point to prove but not just myself necessarily, the whole squad feels like we've got to show what we can do.

"We didn't feel as strongly as we would have liked last season and the manager has been on our back. We want to start as great as possible to put ourselves up there early on. It's a big season for a lot of us and we're all looking forward to it."

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Stoke's Monaco friendly was the third game in six days, having only returned to training five days previously. The first two – wins over Neuchatel Xamax and Young Boys Bern – was ultimately enough to ultimately see the club be crowned Uhrencup champions.

The squad is now training at Clayton Wood for a few days before heading to France for a friendly against Ligue 1 side Amiens on Saturday.

Stoke City training ahead of the Monaco friendly

Berahino said: "I don't think a lot of lads have done this (so many games so early) before, I definitely haven't. But we came out really well, I think the lads applied themselves through the three games really well and it was a shame against Monaco that we didn't hold onto the lead.

"Fair play to Monaco, they're a top side who have just won the French league. It's a great experience and you can't knock their quality."

And the forward is enjoying being back at work.

"I got two weeks off straight after the season finished, a holiday with family and friends," he said.

"But after that I just got back into it, trying to mimic what we do through the season. It's worked, I feel great, so let's see what happens through the season."